Dog Days
by apples-a-day
Summary: AU after S2. Regina has locked herself in her house after her mother's death, and Emma feels guilty about the loss. So she decides she'll do anything to make Regina smile and cheer her up, even transforming into a dog to do so.
1. Sending a Message

**So here we go! Gotta upload this story here too.**

 **After many changes as to what this story would be about, I chose this one!**

 **This fic starts after Cora's death, and as I will also explain within the story, Regina and Emma had a bit of a healthier relationship before Cora came to town.**

 **I have to thank Tiff and Lola for once more hosting this Big Bang, and of course the wonderful people who encouraged and beta'd this: btvsobsessed623, mandyrosask and misslane1981!**

 **Last but not least, the amazing kingstonsong for the wonderful drawing!**

 **I hope everyone enjoys!**

* * *

Emma watched as the door to 108 closed, and sighed. It had been almost two months since she had seen Regina, two months since Cora had died.

Well, not died, murdered. By Snow White no less. And while it was true that Cora had been a vile and dangerous woman, there had to have been another way. Some kind of prison to hold her would've been better than death, especially seeing how distraught it had left Regina. But between Gold and Snow, Cora's fate had been sealed, and Regina paid the price with yet another gaping hole in her heart.

She had locked herself in her house, and the only one who ever saw her was Henry. Emma would drop him off by the gate to the Mills residence, watch as he walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. The door would swing open, and Henry would walk inside, the door closing behind him with a definitive click and barely any sighting of the owner of the house. Emma wasn't allowed into the property because of the defensive bubble that Regina had erected. Henry said that it was so no one would come bother her, but Emma was certain it was to keep out the more angry citizens that would want to take advantage of her more fragile state. So she settled with getting reports from Henry. And since Regina was no longer Mayor, she had very little to do, and no reason to leave the house. She did gardening, some reading, cooking, and cleaning. It definitely wasn't the life anyone would hope, but Emma's parents seemed satisfied with the outcome.

"It's not like while the 28 years the curse was in place she had much else to do," David commented.

Snow, although she was still seeing Archie on a daily basis to deal with the guilt of killing someone else, had accepted that it had been a necessary evil and agreed. "He's right, Emma. Regina feeling remorseful over her mother's death seems a bit hypocritical considering all the lives she's ripped apart."

Emma gave a noncommittal hum and left it at that. She knew Regina was no saint, but everyone deserved a second chance; she knew she herself had done some things in the past that wouldn't be considered as part of the 'good' way of life. Granted, it was nothing as drastic as Regina, but she had started trying to change for Henry; Emma knew that, and she had even begun a budding friendship with the woman, trying to come together for Henry's sake.

It had all taken a back seat and derailed the minute Regina began siding with her mother, not even explaining why she had the sudden change of heart. But Emma had taken a chance that Regina had a plan and not tried to press on when Regina clipped, "I know what I'm doing, Ms. Swan."

And yes, they had even returned to the whole Ms. Swan and Madam Mayor dynamic, which always hit a nerve for Emma. Still she had backed off, though now she regretted not trying to do more. Maybe if she had, things would've turned out differently.

But all she could do now was sigh and head to the diner for some food. She would also try to ask around for a place for her to live, without her overbearing parents who were trying to compensate for lost years.

"You look like hell decided to take you out for a wild joyride," Ruby greeted as she approached Emma's spot on the counter.

Emma hummed and dragged her hand down her face. "That obvious huh?"

"Kinda. And as your friend I say, talk to me." Ruby sat down on the stool beside her and looked expectantly.

"Aren't you also my godmother or something?" Emma smirked, and Ruby smacked her on the arm.

"We're not talking semantics. So what's got you glum? Love problems? Family problems? Ex-mayor problems?" Ruby then added, "Or all three of them at once?"

Emma groaned because _of course_ it was obvious. "Clearly my subtle methods of coping aren't working."

"Honey, you don't do subtle. You come with pomp, circumstance and an entire state college's marching band."

"Kick my ego while it's down why don't you?" Emma deadpanned.

Ruby smirked at her friend. "Oh come on, don't change the topic, tell me what's on your mind."

"It's Regina, no one's seen her for two months and I'm worried about her. I hate that my parents just don't care about her, they aren't interested in checking up on her and just keep her a prisoner," Emma explained with a mournful sigh.

"Well she locked herself up in her house, that's not on your parents," Ruby attempted to counter, but a glare from Emma got her to put her hands up placatingly. "Sorry, not trying to be a stickler here."

It was true that Regina did this to herself, but Emma's parents made it quite clear that if she weren't already holed up in her home - and completely inaccessible to anyone - she would be properly locked up and have her powers stripped away. So she was screwed either way. Emma clarified it all to Ruby, who frowned and nodded. Emma sighed. "I just want to help her, let her know that not everyone hates her and that she has someone on her side."

"Fair point. But okay, she's holed up and has nowhere to go. She doesn't want anyone around but Henry, how can you help her?"

"I thought about sending him with a letter," Emma shrugged. "He delivers it and she reads it. Then she will know, and maybe even let me in."

Ruby levelled her with a look. "That's pitiful. Plus, your writing looks terrible, it's like chicken scratch; she won't be able to decipher what you want. She'll probably think you're criticizing her."

Emma huffed and crossed her arms. "Geez, critic much? Then what do you suggest?"

"Flowers?"

"That'll seem like I'm trying to woo her!" Emma responded, scandalized.

"Please, like you don't have a crush on her?" Ruby teased, wagging her eyebrows and grinning.

"No! I mean yes but….that's not the point!" Emma's splutters just kept fueling Ruby's grin, which soon morphed into a smirk.

"Then what is the point, oh wise Saviour?"

Emma ground her teeth at the title. "It's about knowing she has an ally. If I tell her I have a crush on her, all I'm getting is a fireball to the head."

* * *

With the lack of any other options, Emma thrust a bouquet of flowers into Henry's hands the next day, and sent him off to his mother's, confusion marring his face. He had been given no explanation, only that he had to deliver them to Regina.

"Hey mom," Henry greeted with a smile as her saw her from behind the door. He wished his mom wouldn't hide, but he also knew the town didn't much care for her walking around.

"Hello to you too, who are the flowers from?" Regina responded, a soft smile on her face as she closed the door. She was so glad she still had his company, and that Emma had accepted her request. Perhaps sending it via a crow had been a bit too much, but when the doorbell rang the next day, she knew that it had to be Henry, the only one apart from her who could cross her barrier. And so it continued, every other week she would get to spend time with him, like everything was normal. The very first day, she had sat down with Henry and came clean with him, explaining everything. He finally understood and forgave her, and that was all that was important to her.

Well, almost. She saw Emma wistfully watching from the sidewalk every single time Henry came over, and she wished she could still maintain a friendship with Emma. But she knew it couldn't be. Her parents would start a riot, and surely Emma wanted nothing beyond a stable relationship for Henry to feel comfortable with.

"They're from Emma." Regina frowned, wondering why Henry would be getting flowers from his other mother. Her frown deepened when Henry added, "They're for you."

"Why?" Regina blurted, baffled. She picked them up and examined the bouquet of yellow and orange roses and smiled. They looked pretty enough, and it was a sweet gesture, though the reason why was a mystery. Emma had nothing to gain from trying to get close again to Regina. Unless it was a trick. No, Emma wouldn't do that.

"Dunno, she just gave them to me and said 'they're for your mom' so here they are. There's no card or anything," Henry explained. Then he excitedly asked, "Can I go put them in a vase and water them?"

Regina allowed him to do so with a smile and she wondered if maybe there was a deeper meaning to the flowers, like maybe it was a secret message Emma was trying to send. But then she scoffed. That would be ridiculous. But still, she googled it out of curiosity. She smiled at the yellow flower's meaning, friendship. It was a sweet gesture, maybe they had been picked due to their meaning, and Emma was trying to reach out to her in the hopes of rebuilding their friendship, for some inexplicable reason.

And then she looked up what an orange rose meant. Bridging the gap between friendship and love, symbolized by the yellow and red roses, respectively. She paled. Emma couldn't be serious. Either that or it was a joke in very poor taste.

On the bright side, at least there were no red roses.

Henry came padding in with the vase held firmly between both hands. "Hey mom, there was a red rose in the middle of the bouquet. I brought it closer to the top so it can grow."

Regina tried to create a habit of not swearing in front of Henry, so right now she was internally cursing in English and Spanish. This couldn't be happening.

* * *

"Thanks again for the flowers, Belle." They were in the library, and Emma was perusing some books to take home and read. It helped to pass the time when interacting with her parents was too much.

"No problem Emma," Belle responded with a friendly wave. She wondered if Emma knew what kind of flowers she had delivered. It had been a special request by Ruby, who wanted Emma to just admit her feelings already, certain that something good would come out of it. Belle was also quite partial to the romance blossoming, being a romantic herself, so she agreed.

Emma ventured over to the leather tomes from the Enchanted Forest, curious about the stories she would find there. She found one for obscure magic and took it out. She had magic as she had recently learnt; she should probably train in it, lest she wanted to blow something up accidentally. Flipping through it, she came across the instructions for a potion that piqued her curiosity.

In no time at all, she was rushing Belle to sign the book out, and the latter did so in extreme confusion, watching as Emma ran out the door after she was done, and headed to the dinner in a half-crazed sprint.

"Ruby!" she exclaimed as she burst inside the establishment. Granny gave her a strange look from behind the counter, and the only customers there, an elderly couple, startled at her erratic entrance.

The waitress approached her with apprehension. "Hey Emma, what is it?"

"I've got the perfect idea for a gift to give to Regina," Emma grinned and led her over to the right so they could sit, the only table on that side, by the window, and opened the book to the page she had bookmarked with her finger.

"A spell to give someone warts? I don't know Emma, I don't think that's going to get the reaction you want from Regina," Ruby cautiously responded, wondering if her friend had truly lost it.

"No, the one on the other side!" Emma tapped the opposite page with an impatient finger.

"You want to turn her into an animal?" Ruby tried again.

"Not _her_. Me! I can turn into a dog!"

Ruby was certain that Emma was one peanut away from becoming a full nut house. "Why would you want to turn into a dog and how in this green earth would it help you with Regina?"

"I can keep her company! Look, she doesn't want anyone else's human company clearly, so I figured I could do that instead, show her that she doesn't have to hide."

"But what about you two becoming a couple?" Ruby pressed.

Emma did a double-take. "What?! I need to be in a good place with her before I try that. I can't just barge in right now and proclaim my love. Not that the protection spell would let me through either so I could do that."

Ruby flinched. Oh boy, that wasn't good news. "Then you might not be too happy about something."

She explained to Emma what she had done with the flowers, and Emma looked apoplectic. "Oh fuck, definitely doing the dog thing. She won't want me anywhere near her after this!"

That would explain why Henry told her she looked shaken after the flowers incident yesterday. And without any card to explain, she would definitely think the flowers were the message, rather than an odd assortment of flowers she had picked out. She made a mental note to be more careful when making attempts at arbitrary gifts.

Glancing at the ingredient list, Ruby asked, "Shouldn't you first worry about finding out if you have the ingredients?"

That was a good point, and Emma decided to get Ruby and Belle to help her, the latter mostly to pilfer from Gold's storage. After all, they had created a fiasco from her feeble attempt at a white flag, turning said flag into a crude love poem shouted from the rooftops.

About a week later, all the ingredients were gathered. The easiest had been to grab a bit of golden retriever hair from old Mr. Petersen's pet, and the hardest had been a newt's eyeball, which Emma was still not sure she wanted to know why the potion needed it in the first place. It'd be hard to bond with Regina if she had an eyeball sticking out of her fur somewhere.

"So according to the spell book, this will activate your ability to shift back and forth between the two forms," Belle explained as she finished the potion. "You do have to be careful because there are some side effects."

"Like what?" Emma asked.

"It doesn't say," came Belle's murmured response as she squinted at the text. "Books in the Enchanted Forest weren't too descriptive in that sense."

"I can tell," Emma grumbled, growing impatient with waiting.

Ruby piped up, "I can tell you one. Clothes. You probably won't be able to stick with your clothes after you transform into a dog, so when you transform back, don't do it in the middle of Main Street, I don't think anyone wants their sheriff streaking across town."

Emma made a mental note to store clothes in places that she could change in.

"Uh, question. What happens when someone needs you?" Ruby asked, raising her hand a bit for emphasis.

"I'll uh, figure something out." Truth was, no one really needed her all that much. Ever since things had calmed down, no one had any need for the Saviour, nor Emma in turn. And her position of sheriff was relatively just for show, since her father technically became the sheriff when she went through Jefferson's hat and hadn't found it necessary to demote himself. She was certain no one would miss her, and if someone needed her, she would shift back quickly enough. As for her parents, she would just say she had found a place with Ruby, and use this room that they were brewing the potion in for a shower and a bed.

The only one left was Henry.

"So you want me to stay with mom for a while?" Henry asked skeptically.

Emma nodded. "Yeah kid, I figure it'd be good for your mom to have a regular schedule. If you're around, she will have a purpose."

It was a logical reason, so Henry agreed, and when he told Regina, she was so excited at having him constantly that she didn't think to ask about why Emma was doing this. She had been trying to block Emma from her mind, and had definitely _not_ been one digit away from phoning Emma and demanding an explanation for the flowers. But she had promised herself she wouldn't. The minute that she made contact with someone else, things would go wrong, she was sure of it. No one wanted her anyway, so there was no great loss.

* * *

The potion was finally ready on Friday after simmering for a few days, and Emma was preparing herself to drink it. "It'll work out," she told herself encouragingly. Holding the cup up as if cheering someone, even though she was completely alone in the room, she downed the contents of the glass and gasped, feeling faint. Maybe she should've asked Ruby or Belle to be here as she drank this. Her final thought as she blacked out was that she really wanted to scratch her ear.

When she came to, she noticed that her body was a lot different, shorter and not proportioned properly, and she startled, standing up abruptly.

It had worked! She looked down at her front paws and saw the beautiful golden fur she sported. She tried to make a sound and she let out a bark.

Now, she had to go to Mifflin Street. Before she left, she had to grab a rolled up piece of paper for Regina written by Belle pretending to be Emma - who wouldn't admit that the former's penmanship outdid hers immensely.

She took it between her teeth, and hoped that she wouldn't slobber on it too much before she got to Regina's. As started to walk, Emma realized that it wasn't so simple to walk as a dog. She stumbled a bit and made some missteps, but eventually she was on Mifflin, and only then did she think to wonder what would happen if the barrier rejected her.

One thing was for sure, it would be painful as hell.

But she didn't let it deter her, and headed right for the entrance.

To her immense surprise, she made it through! Regina probably wasn't expecting any animals to waltz through or have any ulterior motive, but Emma wasn't focusing on that. She bounded up the walkway and pawed at the door, cursing her inconsideration at not having thought the plan fully through. She had to reach the doorbell, but it was too high for her to reach.

Then she remembered that she could always stand on her back legs and try. She placed the piece of paper down, got up, and faltered a few times as she tried to find her balance. Finally, she practically collapsed against the doorbell and fell back on all four legs when it rung, picking the piece of paper up once again. Then she waited, tail wagging.

The door finally opened, and Henry was standing before her.

"Who is it Henry?" she heard Regina ask from a bit farther back.

"It's a dog!" Henry excitedly exclaimed, moving to kneel before Emma and pet her.

Regina appeared after a moment, cautiously looking at the dog, and Emma let out a soft whimper. Regina had bags under her eyes and looked only to be a fraction of herself. She was pale and her face was drawn, but she still knelt beside Henry. "Huh, that is bizarre, I wonder if they have an owner."

Emma pawed at the piece of paper between her teeth and then set it down by Regina's knees. She sat on her haunches and waited, tongue hanging out and tail waving lazily.

Regina faltered at picking up the paper, so Henry did it instead.

"She's for you, mom!" he said after he was done reading. "Can we keep her?"

Glancing at the letter, Regina saw it was a simple message.

 _Dear Regina,_

 _I thought she would be a good addition to your family._

 _Emma._

 _PS: Coincidentally, her name is Emma too, but I'm sure she could go for something else if you don't like the name._

It was from Emma. She was apprehensive about taking the dog in after the flowers…was this an attempt at an apology for that? Or maybe this was a further move in the romantic sense, and accepting it would send Emma the wrong message.

Not that she didn't like Emma in that sense, she just doubted it would go anywhere because why would anyone willingly want to be in a long-term relationship with her?

Still, the dog did look adorable, with her large eyes and tilted head looking at her sideways.

"Please mom?" It had always been Henry's dream to have a dog, and even he was looking at her pleadingly.

"A few days only for now, and I am not calling her Emma," Regina stated. She might just end up calling her Princess…and she voiced it. "Yes, Princess sounds much better, wouldn't you say?"

Henry grinned and scratched the back of Emma's ears. "Yeah, Princess sounds great."

Emma could only let out a huff. Of course Regina would name her that.

* * *

 **And that's chapter 1!**

 **For those wondering, I haven't given up on my other stories! I promise I'll get back to writing them soon!**

 **This is just backlog. Let me know what you thought!**


	2. A New Life

**Loving the enthusiasm thus far for this, so here we go with chapter 2!**

* * *

For the first few days, Emma got the feeling that Regina wasn't truly convinced about having her there. She spent most of her time with Henry, watching as Regina busied herself with mundane tasks on the other side of the house. At least the weather was nice enough that she could go out into the backyard and play fetch with Henry.

Whenever she tried to approach her, Regina would move and busy herself with something else. If it was something like cooking, which she couldn't run away from and leave unattended, she would call Henry to take Emma away from the kitchen claiming that it was hazardous or something equally outlandish. Granted, Emma could imagine that an actual dog wandering about could cause chaos in the kitchen, but Regina was taking it to ridiculous heights.

Not to mention that Regina had only agreed to keep her for a few days, and if that meant that Emma was getting taken to the pet shelter after those days were up, she would be hard pressed to escape that.

When Monday arrived, Emma was nervous. Henry had been home for the entire weekend, so she'd had someone to spend time with. But when the door shut, Emma was left in the foyer, and Regina had locked herself in her study. Emma tried pawing at the door, letting out a whimper, but nothing. Then she got to thinking, surely the windows are open. Regina wasn't a firm believer in air conditioning, and with the warm September weather, Regina must've cracked open a window. So Emma bounded out of the living room window and made her way across the front yard to the study. Much to her luck, the window was open, and Emma wasted no time in jumping through.

Not so lucky was that the polished floors were a bit too slippery for her yet untrained-in-properly-braking paws, and she went skidding across the floor, only stopping as she smacked onto the side of the sofa, right by Regina's legs.

"What the-" Regina startled, looking down at her. "You really are annoyingly persistent aren't you?"

Emma's only response was to let out a small huff and sit on her haunches. Regina groaned. "Why am I even bothering to talk to you?"

Yet again, Emma couldn't respond, she merely tilted her head curiously to the side. "Oh don't give me that pitiful look. It's not like I have much of a choice on conversational partners, now do I? I'm the big bad Evil Queen who has locked herself in her home because this entire town hates her. And my mother-"

Regina tapered off, letting out a shuddering breath as she set her book to the side, and Emma felt like she had to provide some sort of comfort, so she padded her way forward and set her head down by Regina's knees, letting out a whimper.

For a brief moment, Regina accepted Emma's head resting on her legs, hand reaching out to stroke the fur on her head. But then she remembered herself and extracted her hand as if burned; she slipped her legs out from beneath Emma's head, and scooted further away. "This is ridiculous, you are a dog. Now scram!"

When Emma didn't move, Regina muttered, "Either you are the most stubborn dog known to man, or you aren't capturing a word that I'm saying. You should fear me as everyone does, not seek me out and vault through a window in your determination."

Emma wished there was a way to better express herself, one that didn't involve returning to her human form because she was sure that Regina would be even more upset if she saw that Emma was the dog and that would defeat the purpose of this plan. So she merely let out a soft whine and pawed at her pant leg. Regina looked down and sighed. "I don't suppose you quite understand what I'm trying to get across."

Regina stood up and Emma backed away a few paces, confused and wondering what was about to happen.

"You should fear me!" Regina formed two fireballs in her hand as she snarled. The fire burned bright in her palms, but Emma refused to budge. Regina was nonplussed when the dog merely sat back down on the carpet and wagged her tail.

Emma noted that the flames died out briefly in Regina's confusion, and she approached the woman before lying down on her belly, her front paws almost touching Regina's socked feet, looking up at her. The flames died out completely and Regina sat on her knees in front of her and stroked Emma's fur. "Clearly you aren't afraid."

With a soft whimper, Emma rolled onto her back, her tummy exposed. Regina got the hint and began rubbing the soft area, much to Emma's enjoyment. It was right then that Regina realized that maybe, this was exactly what she needed, someone else who didn't care that she was the Evil Queen, who just wanted to see her happy, just like Henry did.

"Alright Princess, I suppose this is your new home." Emma celebrated her victory with a happy bark, though she could do without the new name. Then again, she had said Regina could change it.

The rest of the day was spent with a much kinder Regina, even kinder than Emma herself as a human had seen her. When Henry came home, he bounded over to hug her, and Emma did her dog duties, tail wagging excitedly and barking happily. That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Emma felt content. She was making a difference, she was helping a family, technically her own in a sense, find their happiness, and be there for them.

The next morning, Emma lounged about while Regina fussed over Henry. After she was done, she had a favour to ask him. "When you get back, could you buy some more food for Princess?"

"Yeah! Can I also buy a collar and leash for her? Make it official?" Henry asked.

Emma huffed. Honestly, couldn't Regina have picked a less obnoxious name for her? Of course not.

"Certainly, now get going, otherwise you're going to be late for school." After Henry left, Regina sighed and walked over to the living room, collapsing on the couch. Emma followed in tow, clambering up to lay beside her.

"Do you think he's okay?"

She certainly didn't understand what Regina was talking about, and she voiced her confusion with a bark. Thankfully, Regina seemed to understand. "Henry. He- I love him so much. He's the light of my life. But I'm so worried that keeping him here, and having me as a mother might endanger him. The entire town hates me, and I would never forgive myself if they took it out on him."

Emma was sure that wasn't the case. Henry had gained a healthy amount of friends since the curse had broken, but she could understand Regina's worry. So she sat up and rested her head on Regina's shoulder, nose rubbing affectionately against Regina's very ticklish hair. She felt Regina squirm a bit and let out a sound that sounded very much like a giggle - something that Emma was convinced Regina couldn't do - and she moved her shoulder. "Stop, stop, I'm ticklish!"

Regina Mills was ticklish, oh Emma was going to get a lot of mileage out of this once the charade was over. But now, she had a friend to cheer up. Emma scampered up and ran to the patio door, paws patting at the glass insistently.

"Princess, what are you doing?" Regina asked as she came up to where Emma stood on her hind legs, her front paws resting on the door. "Do you want to go out?"

Emma nodded, and Regina chuckled. "Well I have to give Emma credit on one thing, she got one obedient and smart dog. I wonder if it cost her much?"

The only cost for Emma was finding out what exactly a newt's eyeball looked like. No amount of brain bleach could erase her memory of that. Shaking her head of the memory, she moved to stand on all four legs again, and waited for Regina to open the patio door. Once it was open, Emma bounded forward and located the small toy ball Henry had stored away from his baby days, and had revived to play with her. She picked it up in her mouth, and ran back inside. She bopped her head against Regina's leg, and the brunette looked down from where she was organizing her kitchen for probably the twentieth time - according to Henry, she did that every other day - and frowned. "Henry's going to be gone for a few hours. You'll have to wait."

Emma groaned internally. She dropped the ball and used her snout to roll it forward so it stopped by her feet, clad in heels. The fancy shoes concept baffled Emma, but she learned not to question Regina's fashion choices. "Oh, you want _me_ to play?"

Regina's confusion made Emma wonder if she'd never had the opportunity to just relax lately. So she pushed the ball closer with her nose once again, and Regina picked it up before walking outside. Emma followed in tow, an extra spring in her step. She watched as Regina reared her arm back, and threw the ball across the expansive yard.

Emma bounded forward to pick the ball, and rushed back to Regina, dropping it off onto the outstretched hand and then letting out a happy bark. Regina was smiling, and Emma felt proud to have been the cause of it.

Catch quickly turned to tag, and Regina's laugh fueled Emma like nothing had ever done before. Not even coffee and bear claws could compare, a serious statement to be made for anyone who knew Emma. The game ended when Regina's running around in circles caused her to tumble onto the ground in a fit of laughter. Emma quickly followed, rolling on the grass and then she began to give Regina's face small licks.

She stopped and froze. Since when did she want to do that? She recalled Belle's words about side effects. Maybe this was one.

Regina obviously didn't mind, and just pulled Emma towards her for a hug. "Thank you. It had been a while since I've had so much fun. Henry's also been trying, but I don't want him to have to worry about these things; then again, I suppose you don't understand, do you?"

Emma understood all too well. It was why she was doing this in the first place. But all she could do was bark as they lied on the grass, sun shining down on them, and Regina hugged her tighter. "I appreciate you listening anyway."

They spent the rest of the day in an easy companionship. Regina gave Emma a bath that consisted of Emma really loving Regina's soft and caring touch on her fur. Afterwards, the brunette read while Emma watched TV sitting beside her on the couch.

When she heard Henry arrive, she had the incredible urge to rush to the front door and greet him. She gave in to the impulse and ran there, barking happily. Why she felt that need was beyond her. She made a mental note to sneak out tonight and hunt Ruby down and see if she and Belle could investigate. But now she had to greet Henry by jumping up and resting her front paws on his shoulders.

Henry let out a peal of laughter and said, "Hey Princess!"

That got Emma to control herself once again and fall back to all fours.

"Look what I got for you, your own collar!" It was a simple red leather band with her new name on a golden circle in the middle. Henry fitted it around her neck and then stood back up, grinning. "And a leash to match. Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Don't you have a science test tomorrow, young man?" Regina asked as she came to a stand by the foot of the staircase, arms crossed and a pointed look in her face.

Henry sighed and muttered "yes," before stomping up the small set of stairs and heading to the kitchen to grab a snack before he had to get to the agonizingly boring task of studying.

Regina chuckled and brought her hand to scratch Emma's head. "Come on Princess, Henry can walk you tomorrow. You can keep me company in the kitchen as I prep dinner."

Emma's response was to patter her way to the kitchen and the jump onto a stool by the counter, beside Henry who was munching on some cookies. He grinned and extended his hand to ruffle her fur. She let herself be petted, enjoying the feeling so much.

It worried her that she was defaulting to some more animal reactions, so the minute she was sure everyone was asleep, she snuck out of the open living room window, and ran out toward the town. She briefly wondered why Regina kept her house so open but then she remembered that currently there was a force field keeping all unwanted humans out, and before that, everyone believed it was the Evil Queen's lair, and originally the Mayor's mansion. No one that valued their life would risk it by breaking in to her house.

Turning a right, she saw her destination, Granny's Bed and Breakfast. Her room was on the first floor thankfully, and the back communal patio door was always unlocked. As long as Granny wasn't feeling particularly trigger happy, she'd be able to get into her room without anyone noticing. Once she kicked her room door shut, she concentrated on transforming, and next thing she knew, she was on her hands and knees, human once more. And very naked save for the red collar that she quickly shucked off.

"Ruby wasn't kidding," Emma grumbled as she found her clothes and put them on. Then she walked through the connecting hallway and saw Ruby mopping the floor.

When she saw her, Ruby grinned. "Who let the dog out?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "Very funny. I need to talk to you about something."

"You mean you've got a bone to pick with me, right?" Ruby riposted, much to Emma's chagrin.

Still, Emma told Ruby of her little side effects, and Ruby grew serious.

"Makes sense. The more you are a dog, the more attune to you'll be to your dog-instincts and you'll act out on them. Like take me for example, there are some things that I've just become one with the wolf."

"Is 'being excessively annoying' one said thing?" Emma mutters with a smirk. Her response was a swift punch in the arm.

"I'm serious. Your sense of smell, touch, and sight will change too. Not as much as a wolf's but still pretty acute."

Emma groaned. "Can you have Belle start looking for an antidote for this? I'm not sure a lifetime of dog-like reactions is how I want to live my life."

"Yeah, not a great romance technique if you're slobbering all over Regina," Ruby agreed.

* * *

 **Alright, I've got one more chapter in the backlog, and hopefully by then I'll have chapter 4 ready to post soon enough!**

 **Hope you've enjoyed this chapter's hijinks!**


	3. Family Moments

**Sorry for the delay with chapter 3! I just got sidetracked and forgot to post it.**

 **But anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Emma managed to sneak back in and get a good night's sleep, then spent the day just helping Regina with chores, like bringing the clothes bag down to the laundry room, and just generally trying to bring a smile to Regina's face. It was small, but she felt that she was helping, even if her efforts fell short with Regina muttering about Molly over at 106 who kept looking through her curtains into Regina's house. Still, Regina tried to ignore her and sit peacefully watching TV together with Emma.

"I swear, I should put on a show and pretend to sacrifice you to some goddess of evil. That would get her to leave me alone."

Emma let out a happy bark, amused at the idea. Regina probably thought she had gone crazy.

"Well then." Regina blinked. "Didn't know you had a proclivity for the arcane."

With a roll of her head, Emma hoped to convey her exasperation, and she was successful if Regina's laugh was any indication. "Okay, I get it, you probably think you just got adopted into the craziest family in Storybrooke."

Crazy was relative in Emma's opinion, considering this was a town full of fairy tale characters. So they just continued to watch in silence, and eventually Molly left her post, content that Regina wasn't up to anything nefarious. Emma made a mental note to have a field day on Molly's hydrangeas tonight.

Eventually, Henry returned, and Emma was excitedly waiting by the door, the new leash between her teeth. Regina was just looking entertained.

"Someone's excited," she commented as Henry put his backpack down. Then she grew serious. "Now remember Henry, be careful. At the first sign of danger, you run back here, understood?"

"Yeah mom, don't worry, we'll be fine. Princess can protect me too!"

Emma let out a bark that she hoped was affirmative. Damn yeah she would protect Henry tooth and nail. Her bite was hopefully as good as her bark, if not better. She waited as Henry fitted the leash, and then they were off.

"I hope you're liking our home Princess. I know that it might take a little while to get used to it, but mom's pretty nice," Henry starts once they're on Mifflin Street. Emma just let out a bark, and bumped onto his leg. Henry paused to ruffle her fur happily, and then continued walking. "Alright, alright, I suppose after half a week, you know what we're like. Oh maybe we can visit Emma! Except, I have no idea where she is…I hope she's okay."

Emma let out a sad whine. Damn, she had figured Henry wouldn't really miss her. She had to rectify that.

"Hey it's okay, I know she's fine. If she wasn't, I would know," Henry reassured her, but Emma still felt bad. She couldn't be cheering Regina up at Henry's expense. So that night, she snuck out again, and headed to the B&B. Granny was snoozing by the front desk with the crossbow resting on her lap, and Emma treaded carefully. She didn't want to know how lethal those crossbow bolts were.

Reaching her room, she turned back and didn't even bother to put some clothes on before she fired off a series of texts letting Henry know that she knew it had been a while since they had talked, but she was doing okay, taking care of some business on another part of town, and she wasn't allowed to divulge any details.

 _'Is it a secret mission?'_ Henry fired back, and Emma nearly dropped the phone at seeing his response.

 _'Shouldn't you be asleep?'_ she asked, and she knew he was supposed to be doing just that, and she frowned at her phone as if that would incite Henry to answer faster.

 _'Maybe…'_

 _'Then go to sleep kid!'_

 _'You texted me.'_ He added an exasperated emoji and Emma wanted to groan. She knew it had been a bad idea for him to have a phone, but Regina had insisted, saying it was high time he had one in case of emergencies. He clearly took the 'emergency' part quite liberally. _'So are you on a secret mission?'_

 _'Something like that. Now go to sleep. Love you lots kid.'_ She could just imagine him rolling his eyes as he responded that he would and that he loved her too.

Satisfied that Henry wasn't feeling like she was neglecting him, she felt calmer. It was a weak excuse that could be torn apart in minutes, but she figured a 10-year old would accept it. Now she had to go destroy some flowers over in 106.

* * *

It was the shrill screech drifting in through the open window that woke Emma up and she clambered up on all four legs in surprise. She approached the window and noted with amusement that her plan had been successful. Molly had clearly been innocently heading out to water her plants until she discovered that there were no more plants to water. Well, they were still there, but the pots were broken and the soil dispersed around the property as the flowers lied lifelessly on the pavement, stomped by her paws. Served her right. Emma wasn't usually one to be so petty, but she felt that Regina had enough to deal with, she didn't need a paranoid neighbour looking through the window expecting the worst.

The screech then turned to panicked calling out to her husband, Frank, and the sound had apparently drifted upstairs, because in no time, Regina was rushing down the stairs clad in her pyjamas and in the midst of putting on a silk robe on top, a very sleepy Henry following a few steps back, rubbing his eyes and trying to make sense of the confusion.

"What happened?" Regina asked, not that Emma would've been able to respond in her current form. Then she went to the window Emma was looking through, and she understood. "Oh my, I wonder who's responsible for this?"

Between the mock tone of surprise and the pat on her head, Emma knew that Regina was very well aware who had caused this. How, she had no idea.

Afterwards, Emma found out how when Regina said she would give her a bath later. She had tracked muddy prints through the garden. But Regina seemed proud of her, and Henry was very amused, so Emma just barked happily and watched as the Mills prepared for the day while she ate her kibble which was actually quite yummy in her opinion.

Today was Regina's self-appointed cleaning day, so she could do little but just keep Regina company as the brunette wiped the dirt from the mansion. The only entertainment came from Molly, who had surmised that Regina was the culprit; whether she had also seen the muddy paw prints, or just figured that Janice over at 104 - who she also had a ferocious hatred for, as Emma had once come to find out during the first few months of her exciting Sheriff duties - couldn't have done it, Emma wasn't quite sure. She was standing in the sidewalk leading to Regina's walkway, the closest she could get to the perimeter of the house with the protection spell intact. That didn't stop her from yelling a tirade, promising fiery death to something or other. She had stopped paying attention within the first few minutes and Regina placed a muting spell.

"And to think she was just a simple seamstress in the Enchanted Forest," Regina quipped once the spell took hold.

Still, Regina pulled out a lawn chair and sat on her front garden to read when Henry was supposed to head back home. Emma figured it was an intimidation tactic to get rid of her pesky neighbour.

And it was working. For all her bravado, Molly didn't seem to be all that interested in an actual confrontation, for she just scurried home after half an hour of seeing Regina there. Granted it didn't help that every ten minutes, Regina would stand up and stretch, lighting up a fireball in each palm for effect. Sometimes she could be a bit over the top, but Emma was much too entertained with this to be at all bothered.

* * *

It was Friday when things changed. Henry was going to a sleepover with some friends, leaving Emma and Regina alone. Henry had been in charge of walking Emma every day, but since he would be out, and she had grown quite fond of the walks, Emma picked up the leash with her teeth, and sat in front of Regina. With a soft whine, she got Regina's attention, and she tilted her head pleadingly, tail wagging hopefully.

"I'm sorry Princess, but I can't walk you," Regina said apologetically with a ruffle of the fur at the top of her head.

Emma didn't desist, jumping up to put her front paws on top of Regina's knees and looking at her pleadingly. Although she wasn't a puppy by dog standards, she hoped that her puppy-like eyes could still be effective.

"Very well," Regina relented. "I suppose it won't do to be locked up for the rest of eternity."

So Emma waited excitedly in the foyer as Regina changed into more suitable walking wear. It turned out to be yet another sensible pantsuit, but Emma took her little victories. She was getting Regina to step out of this safe haven that bordered into self-punishment she had settled into.

"Alright Princess, let's do this." Regina took a deep breath and busied herself with the leash. Eventually, they were walking down the walkway towards the sidewalk. The minute Regina stepped out of the bubble, she stopped.

No alarm.

No weapons pointed at her.

No army closing in on her.

Not even Molly.

Regina grinned. "Looks like this wasn't such a bad idea after all. Now come on Princess. You lead the way."

So Emma excitedly walked forward, every now and then watching Regina's bright smile. They walked to Storybrooke Park, where there were a few people milling about, enjoying the last vestiges of the summer weather. No one paid them any attention, nor even looked in their direction, and Regina grew more confident. She wasn't being actively persecuted. By the time they got back to the house and were safely inside, Regina was sporting a wide grin and she sunk to her knees to hug Emma tightly. "Thank you."

Emma rubbed her head against Regina's and let out a soft bark.

Regina had enjoyed the walk so much, she decided to join Henry in the coming days, and walk together. It was quickly becoming a family outing, and it was a nice relaxing trip.

Until they unwittingly walked into a barbecue party of sorts being held in the park a few days later. They froze when everyone turned to them, disgust marring their faces.

"Well, well, look who it is! The Evil Queen!" one burly man started. Emma was certain he was a sailor.

"Come to curse our newborns?" a woman jeered; a waitress at the Rabbit Hole.

Regina froze, unsure. The party group, at least ten strong, were slowly advancing on the small Mills family. They were certainly outnumbered. She could magic her family away from danger, or fight them, but that might just antagonize the group even more. She generally wouldn't care what anyone thought, or how they reacted to her magic, but her main priority was Henry. She wouldn't put it past some of more vitriolic denizens to use Henry against her.

"Come on, your Majesty, nothing to say?" someone goaded.

"Please, as if I would stoop down to your level," Regina sneered, pulling Henry to stand behind her. Emma meanwhile was trying to wildly think of what to do.

The crowd laughed. "Oh that's rich, coming from the coward that's been hiding in her house for two and a half months!"

Emma began to growl and bark menacingly, getting the crowd to instinctively take a step back.

Sure, she didn't cut a very imposing figure, but she was sure she could take them.

"Oh wow, so now you've got a dog doing your dirty work? How very fitting," the sailor chortled.

"Maybe she cursed someone and turned 'em into a dog!" Emma growled and snapped at that. The waitress looked spooked, and Emma felt her ire rising. She went as far as her leash let her, and then began barking and showing her teeth, she was ready to bite someone's leg if need be.

"Whoa, that thing's gone berserk!" someone screeched, and the crowd dispersed and ran back, worried that the dog was rabid or something.

Once they were far enough away, Emma huffed satisfactorily.

"L-let's go home," Regina shakily said, tugging on Emma's leash gently and leading them back to Mifflin Street, .

Henry said nothing, he just clasped his mom's hand and together, they made their way home. When they finally arrived, everyone heaved a big sigh of relief.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Henry asked as Regina basically collapsed on the living room couch, looking like a defeated woman. Emma saw as she sat there, staring at the ceiling, and couldn't help but feel that this was a step back for her.

Regina looked up from where she had previously been staring at the ceiling, and smiled. "I'll be fine, I just need to take a small break first. Why don't you go up and work on your homework?"

Henry thought about persisting, but Emma jumped in, using her head to push him towards the stairs. He went along willingly, but when they were in his room, he frowned at her.

"Ma?" it was all he said, but Emma understood. It was an affectionate name he had given her. She had never asked if it was supposed to be for mom or a diminutive form of her name. "Is that you?"

She had two choices. Either lie - which she knew Henry was particularly adverse to - or come clean. She nodded.

"Whoa!" He crouched down in front of her. "I knew it! The secret mission, you having the same name, wanting to help mom, the flowers. It all adds up! …I think. Wait. How- _did_ someone curse you?"

Emma shook her head, and then bounded out of his room.

"Wha-Princess come back!" he hissed, not wanting to attract attention.

Without heeding his call, she rushed to Regina's bathroom, and shut the door with her paws. In one of her earlier explorations of the house, she saw that Regina kept a bathrobe behind the door. If she had to explain to Henry what was going on, she could at least do so dressed.

She opened the door now in human form with the bathrobe tightly around her.

Henry was gaping. "This is so cool! When did you-"

"Shhh!" The last thing she needed was for Regina to hear. "I'll answer all of your questions, just keep quiet."

"How did you become a dog? What's going on? How long are you doing this for?" The questions came in a rapid fire, and Emma explained as best as she could.

"Whoa…" Henry was speechless.

"You have to keep this a secret kid, okay? I'm not sure your mom would appreciate it to see me right now, hence the barrier, but I want her to have someone else with her you know?"

Henry's initial response was to give her a big hug. "Thanks ma. You have no idea how happier Mom's been since you've been here."

Emma returned the hug, but she broke it off when she heard Regina approaching. With a thought, she was once again in dog form, just in time for Regina to arrive.

"Henry? What's-" Regina let out a laugh, seeing Princess wearing her bathrobe draped over her back. "Oh my, playing dress-up are we?"

Henry smiled sheepishly and Emma barked happily. Attempting to make a plausible excuse off of the top of his head, Henry blurted, "She just ran off to your bathroom and grabbed the bathrobe."

Regina didn't question it and just patted Emma's head. She had read that dogs sometimes did bizarre things for no reason, and she supposed this was one such instance.

So she just laughed it off and proceeded to make dinner. Emma could tell that Regina was hiding her feelings, pretending to be fine for Henry, because both mothers knew that Henry didn't deserve to have to worry about Regina so much; he was a young boy, full of life and he shouldn't have to carry the brunt of the problems that plagued his mother. But where Regina and Emma differed was that Regina closed herself off when faced with such a situation, while Emma tried to reach out to others. Sure, a few years ago she would've done the same, shut everyone out and handled it on her own, but coming to realize that she had people who wanted to help, she couldn't just shut down.

Even her parents, even if she wasn't in a good place with them, were there for her. She just had to make Regina see that wasn't alone either.

The opportunity came a few hours later. Henry was in his room sleeping, and Regina was also in bed, but she was doing some late-night reading. She looked serene, or at the very least, she was pretending to be so, and Emma jumped up onto the bed and scooted forward so she could sit beside Regina.

"Hey Princess, want to read with me?" Regina softly asked, scratching near Emma's ears.

For a few seconds, Emma completely forgot about what she was trying to do, and instead gave in to how good the touch felt, and then she shook her head. Regina just chuckled at her and went back to reading. But Emma wasn't done yet.

She nudged Regina's shoulder with the crown of her head and waited.

Regina looked at Emma with an amused raised eyebrow. "What is it Princess?"

Emma let out a soft whine and tilted her head. She didn't know how to exactly get Regina to confide in her about earlier, especially if she didn't want to seem too humanoid in her methods of communication and therefore arouse suspicion.

Thankfully, she was quite transparent even as a dog, for Regina sighed a bit, and just said, "I'm fine, really."

With another soft whine and a more persistent nudge, she finally got Regina to open up with a long-suffering groan.

"I suppose those dog instincts you hear so much about are right," Regina started, and then she settled more comfortably against the pillows, and bookmarked the page she had been reading before setting it down on her bedside table. "I'm not even sure why I'm bothering telling you this, you don't seem to grasp the concept of what it is to be an Evil Queen and- and-"

Another groan, and Emma just shifted closer.

"I don't have anyone else to talk to," Regina admitted. "Everyone was right, this path would leave me lonely and bitter."

In Emma's mind, while it might have been true at the height of her Evil Queen days, that wasn't true now, Regina just didn't see it. So in an attempt to show that she was there for her, Emma lied down and rested her head on Regina's leg and looked up at her.

"Oh don't give me that look." Regina saw green eyes that reminded her of something, but she couldn't figure out what. It made her feel secure, and loved. "But very well, if you wish to listen…"

Emma tried to nod as best as she could, but Regina wasn't looking. She was looking at a point off in the distance and gently stroking her fur.

"I was a fool. I thought I could maybe have a second chance with the curse, get my revenge on Snow White, but eventually I realized that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted the life that she took from me. _A family_. I have Henry, and he's perfect, but I wanted more." Regina let out a bitter laugh. "Oh yes, the poor Evil Queen wanted to find love again. Of course it would be unattainable. I am a pariah as you saw, and locking myself up here was clearly the best idea I've had, and my track record for excellent ideas rivals that of the two Idiots; in fact, I realize how terrible I am at making decisions just by saying it.

"And the worst part is, I know that if I tried, I would find allies. I'm sure Emma for example would be amenable to the idea, even if it was for Henry, but I've come to realize something. I've jeopardized everyone's lives by being with me. Some of them by my own hand even. Daniel, my father, Graham, Kathryn, and…" Regina bit her lip. "And my mother. You thankfully didn't get to meet her, I'm not sure she would've been a big fan of you. She was vile and cruel and made the monster that I am…the monster I am trying to get away from.

"But a small part of me…well, maybe not so small, keeps replaying those last words, after she got her heart back. I would've been 'enough'. What did she mean? I just want to know that. I would want to sate that curiosity somehow. At the same time though, I'm glad she's gone. I mean, I know it probably makes me a monster for saying this, but you have no idea how glad I am that I won't be under her thumb ever again, that I'm finally free. Yet I can't help but think. What if she had changed, having her heart back? What if Snow once again took away what could've been something good for me?"

She cleared her throat. "Anyway, the only exception thus far has been Henry, sweet and wonderful Henry. I don't know how long it'll be before he gets taken away from me, like everyone else."

Emma made a promise then. She wouldn't allow that to happen. Regina wouldn't be alone ever again.

* * *

 **And that was this chapter for you!**

 **I should hopefully have the next chapter up for you soon!**

 **Thanks for everyone's patience!**


	4. A Few Developments

**And a new chapter!**

 **Things are starting to move forward, let's see what happens!**

* * *

It was a Saturday afternoon when things got a bit more complicated.

Regina was cooking, and Emma was keeping her company, sitting atop one of the kitchen stools. While the brunette stirred the pot, she voiced a thought, almost distracted. "You know who I haven't spoken to in a while? Emma. Henry hasn't mentioned seeing her, and I have to thank her for you, Princess. In fact, I should give her a call..."

Emma panicked and began to bark. Shit, shit, shit.

"Princess, what's wrong?" Regina turned to look at her, confused.

Bounding off the stool, Emma rushed to grab her leash and headed upstairs, leaving Regina very confused calling after her.

Meanwhile, Emma rushed upstairs to Henry's room, and began barking at him, coming to a stop in front of Henry's chair.

"Hey Princess, what is it?" Henry asked, turning to her.

Emma shook the leash in her mouth and tried to plead with her eyes. "You want to go on a walk now?"

Trying to make her eyes even bigger, Emma practically begged, and Henry acquiesced, though he wasn't understanding the urgency. Just then, Regina came bounding in the room. "Henry, what's wrong with Princess? She began barking and ran up here."

Henry smiled as he took the leash from Princess' mouth and fitted it on her collar. "She just wants to walk, and got kinda antsy."

Regina nodded, letting out a soft smile. "Very well, but keep to the main roads and be safe. If you're too far from home, and you feel like you're in danger, go to the diner or your grandparents' apartment, understood?"

"Yes mom," Henry replied with a reassuring grin, standing up straight once again.

With a nod, she let them pass, and decided to go back to her original plan, calling Emma.

* * *

"Emma? Oh uhm she's ahh...she's on a date!" Ruby wildly said. It was her day working in the Inn's front desk, and therefore her day off as no one ever came here. She had been relaxing when Emma's phone rang. She barely checked who it was before answering, and was discombobulated with Regina's voice.

"On a date? With whom?" Not the question she'd think an ex-enemy turned kinda-family would be interested in knowing about Emma. And certainly not in that tone. "And why do you have her phone?"

Just then the door opened and Henry came bounding in with a dog in tow. Emma. They clearly ran here because Emma had her tongue sticking out, and Henry was panting and out of breath, nearly collapsing on the bench by the door.

"You know what, she's actually coming in now," Ruby said, making eye contact with Emma and gesturing to the phone. "She said to give her a minute."

Henry let go of the leash and watched as Emma went into her room. Ruby put the call on hold and hissed at Henry to wait in the diner. He did so with a long-suffering groan, dragging his feet. Not two minutes later and Emma tumbled out, adjusting an undershirt on, a pair of boxers on backwards.

"All yours,"Ruby murmured as she tossed the phone her way and settled back in her chair.

Emma caught the phone and put the call back on. "Hey Regina, sorry about that, I was out on a walk."

"Ms. Lucas just told me you were on a date," Regina countered, sounding unconvinced.

Shooting a quick glare at Ruby, Emma mended her words. "Right! But it was a bust so I took a walk to clear my head you know..."

Fortunately, Regina bought it, or at the very least, she didn't question it further, and let out a satisfied hum.

When there seemed to be no more responses forthcoming, Emma prompted. "So, what did you want to ask?"

"Ask?"

"Well you just called me so I supposed you wanted to talk about something?"

"Oh," Regina was clearly distracted. Or perhaps she was feeling like Emma was and was a bit tense because this was their first actual conversation since Cora's death. "Yes, I wanted to thank you for giving us Princess."

"Yeah no problem! I figured she would be a nice fit with you guys, so I'm glad she's settling in."

Unbeknownst to Emma, Regina was frowning. She realized her bungle too late in mentioning Princess' name, something Emma didn't know, as the letter said the dog's name was Emma, but she never informed Emma, so how did Emma know who she was talking about? She chalked it up to Henry telling her perhaps, but still remained suspicious, something was going on. "Of course. It was very...thoughtful of you."

When the line fell quiet again, Emma decided it would be a better idea to just end the conversation, and save them both the awkwardness; this wasn't working. "Well uhm, I have to get going."

"Me too, have a good day." And just like that, the call ended, and Emma let out a sigh of relief. Regina wouldn't suspect her.

She was about to mouth Ruby off for the date excuse, when she froze in her tracks at a new voice. "There you are!"

Mary Margaret, with David in tow were storming in through the hallway from the diner.

"H-hey guys, what are you doing here? Or er, how did you find me?"

David crossed his arms in front of him as they came to a stop. "Henry was sitting in the diner and told us. What is going on?"

"With what?" Emma innocently asked. Ruby tried to quickly escape, but a tutting sound from Mary Margaret and a glare kept her right in place behind the desk.

Mary Margaret turned back to her daughter, and she sounded very displeased as she demanded, "Well I would have started with where you have been all these days, but instead I'll start with why you're wearing a _dog collar_ and you're in your underwear in the Inn's lobby!"

Emma went to touch her neck and paled at feeling the collar there. That would be hard to explain.

"Are you in some kind of trouble Emma?" David asked, trying to take the diplomatic route. "Did someone dare you to do this?"

"I-" Emma was unsure what to say. "No. No one dared me. I'm doing this of my own volition."

A frown marred Mary Margaret's face. "Is this some kink stuff? Because if it is-"

"No!" Emma interjected, aghast. "That's not- I'm not!"

"It'd be very sexy if you were," Ruby commented, a sly smirk on her face. It quickly fell when all three Charmings glared at her, and she let out a faint whimper and shrunk back behind her desk.

With a sigh, Emma decided that she had to tell them the truth. "I'm pretending to be a dog."

Her parents blinked. There was a moment of silence, and David recovered first, eyebrows raising. "Points for effort but I think you're a little bit far away from that goal."

Emma let her head hang back as she let out a long suffering groan not unlike her son had done so a few moments ago. As she looked back up, she was about to speak when her tongue lolled out to hang from her mouth and past her chin, much longer than humanly possible. Letting out a grunt of displeasure, she tried to get her tongue back in.

"What is going on?" Mary Margaret asked, aghast.

Knowing she wasn't going to be able to convince them with her tongue like this, she willed herself to transform into a dog. Her parents gasped, taking a step back.

"What in the world," David breathed, kneeling in front of Emma and gently extending his hand to pat Emma on the head. "Emma?"

Emma let out a happy woof, sitting on top of her discarded clothes.

Mary Margaret patted Emma's head and scratched behind her ears. "I don't understand." She turned to Ruby. "Was she bitten?"

"Emma enacted a potion to allow her to transform into a dog," Ruby explained. "Belle made the potion and Emma drank it. We're now working on a counter-potion because as you can tell, the more time she spends as a dog, she begins acting more dog-like."

Her parents were dumbfounded.

"But why is she doing this?" Mary Margaret continued.

"I think it's best she tells you herself, because no way I'm opening that can of worms," Ruby said, hands raised, giving Emma a meaningful glare.

Emma huffed and grabbed the clothes at her feet with her mouth, before running back to her room.

"Wait, Emma!" Mary Margaret yelled after her.

"Why is she leaving?" David asked, wondering if he should go after her.

Ruby tried to calm them. "She's just going to turn back into a human. See, her shifting is like mine, she loses her clothes when she transforms, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to flash her parents."

That seemed to get them to understand, so they waited for Emma to appear, now also wearing jeans and a shirt, though the collar was still there. They were a pain to put back on herself while human, so it would stay, no matter how awkward it was.

"Can I please get some explanation as to why you're doing this?" Mary Margaret pleaded.

Emma bit her lip before answering, "It's for Regina."

"Regina...asked you to do this?" David slowly said, trying to see if it was as crazy as it sounded in his head.

"No, she...she's been alone, and Henry tells me that she hasn't been happy for a while, and she really doesn't look all that healthy being cooped up in that house, and since my first attempt at a peace offering went sideways," here she glanced at Ruby before continuing, "I decided this was the next best option."

"Who would consider _this_ an option?" David asked, still under the impression he was missing something.

"Look, I'm making her happy and I'm being useful, what's so wrong with that?"

Mary Margaret frowned. "You're useful as yourself sweetie, you don't have to transform into a dog to do that!"

"Not really. David is the self-appointed Sheriff, and my role as saviour is done. I have nothing to offer this town, barely anyone's noticed I was gone. If I can do some good like this, then maybe it's not so bad."

David now understood. "So this is about you feeling neglected. Your fears are cropping up, because you think we'll forget about you, or throw you away, like what happened in the foster homes?"

Emma looked surprised at his knowledge. "How...?"

But it was Mary Margaret who answered. "We read books and articles about children who went through foster homes and were never adopted. We wanted to make sure you never felt like that again, so David kept his job on the force for some good father-daughter bonding, and I may have upped the ante on mothering so you could know what it's like to have family that cared for you unconditionally."

Emma's eyes were beginning to water as Mary Margaret continued. "We know we asked a lot from you. Not even a day old and we condemned you to being the Saviour. We wish we could've at least been there to guide you, to let you know that someone was there. So we're more than making up for it, and it might be a bit suffocating we admit to it, but we want you to feel loved Emma. You're our daughter, and nothing is going to change that. Okay?"

She could only nod at that. Ruby had made herself scarce a few minutes ago, and now only the small family stood there, and both parents opened their arms and Emma walked into their embrace.

"We love you Emma," David said into her hair, cradling her head like he always did.

Mary Margaret kissed her forehead, also letting a few tears fall.

"Now, tell us all about this plan," Mary Margaret said as they parted from their hug, all business, combined with a mischievous smirk.

* * *

When Emma and Henry returned to Regina's house, the former back in her dog form, Henry went up to his room after letting his mom know he was okay. Meanwhile, Emma went in search for Regina, having only heard her voice when Henry greeted her.

Emma found her in the study, nursing a tumbler of whiskey. Or maybe it was her cider. Colours were a bit tricky in her current form. It was a bit early to be getting into those drinks, so she knew something was wrong. She jumped onto the sofa and whined softly.

"Oh Princess, I don't know what to do. I'm so afraid of being wrong and messing things up more." Regina breathed, finishing the rest of her drink and setting the glass down. Then she pulled Emma towards her and hugged her tightly. "I just want something to go right for a change. For someone to love me, But Emma brushed me off, and I just-"

She let out a shuddering breath, and Emma knew she shouldn't have ended the conversation so abruptly. At that moment, Emma decided how she would rectify that. Tomorrow, she would go call Regina and ask her for a date.

* * *

 **And that was that for now!**

 **Points if you get what I referenced from the tongue hanging out part. One more chapter to go!**

 **I hope everyone has enjoyed this, I'll be updating this soon!**


	5. Future Plans

**And the final chapter! I know everyone's surprised, but this is quite a chapter packed with everything, so let's see where things take us!**

 **And yes that was very much a Shaggy Dog reference, not a bad movie, if cheesy to the max.**

 **I've been loving the enthusiasm and encouragement for this, I hope everyone enjoys!**

 **Now, here we go!**

* * *

The next day, the morning begun with a surprise.

Well, a surprise for everyone except for Emma.

The phone rang and Regina went to answer it. "Ms. Blanchard, what a wonderful surprise. Or should I say: _Mayor Blanchard_ , what can I do for you?" Regina greeted, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

From the other end of the line, Mary Margaret took a deep breath and responded, "Regina, I believe in second chances, and although you have had plenty of second chances in your colourful life, someone has come petitioning for you to have one more chance to be pardoned. And to be honest, I agree with them. So I am granting it to you. All has been pardoned. The town has been informed via the Mirror, and you are once more a free citizen of Storybrooke, as long as you continue to adhere to the laws, as well as attend a weekly session with Archie for a year. On Monday, we can see about transferring the Mayoral duties back to you."

Regina didn't respond for a moment, stunned.

Henry's eyebrows raised. "Mom?"

"W-who petitioned?" Regina asked, after she dislodged the lump in her throat.

"They requested to be anonymous, but I have faith in them. Have a good day Regina!" Mary Margaret hung up with a sincerely cheery note.

"Mom?" Henry repeated. "What happened?"

"I've been pardoned," she whispered, legs weak. "I'm...free."

"That's great mom!" he grinned, getting down from his seat to engulf her in a hug.

Emma barked happily and jumped up onto two legs to give Regina a lick on her cheek. She missed her mark and ended up reaching her elbow, but Regina still laughed. This worked perfect, and she was glad her mother accepted her petition, She had a plan. It was Friday; this evening, she would be calling Regina to have a date with her, and due to her new free status, she could take her out to dine somewhere nice. If Regina agreed of course.

During the rest of the day, she just kept Regina company, the latter definitely in a better mood than Emma had ever seen during her stay. It was contagious really, she never figured such news could make her so happy. But she supposed that for this Regina, it meant things were finally working out for her, and she could have a life finally without persecution.

* * *

"Slow down ma, I can't run that fast!" Henry laughed, chasing after her. They were headed for the inn, where Emma would make her call. She had let Henry know last night via text, and he had agreed with a wide grin and a hug this morning.

She ran down the sidewalk, glancing every now and then to see Henry following her, his laugh reaching her ears. Then the laughing stopped.

She stopped and turned with a curious frown, and saw Jefferson standing in front of Henry, wearing a long jacket and his famous top hat.

"Good afternoon Henry, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind accompanying me, peacefully."

Henry looked confused. "Why?"

Jefferson sighed, and Emma inched closer, quiet. "Because I don't want to have to hurt you. You see, Paige has taken a shining to you, so unfortunately, if I am to remain in her graces I wouldn't want to hurt you."

With slow and careful steps, Henry began backing away. But still Jefferson advanced. Making her presence known, Emma let out a low growl.

Not even turning around, Jefferson drew a gun from his jacket, and pointed it at Henry, and she heard him take the safety off. "Begone mutt, lest you want this boy to wind up missing a limb."

"You said you wouldn't hurt me," Henry countered, a tinge of fear in his voice.

Jefferson made a hum of agreement. "That I did, but I am willing to sacrifice that if I get what I want in the end."

Emma tried to transform into her human form, she didn't care if she was naked in the middle of a road or that Henry saw her, her maternal instincts kicked in.

But nothing happened.

"Now come along Henry, your dog looks like its going into a seizure."

In a last ditch attempt, she bit Jefferson's calf and kept hold.

"Agh! You mangy mutt, do you want me to kill this boy? Do you?!" Jefferson yelled, grabbing a rough hold of Henry's arm and shaking him.

Henry let out a sound of discomfort that tore at Emma's heart. She had no recourse but to let go.

"Good, at least it's intelligent. Now come along boy."

Emma knew that right now, there was only one person who could help her.

* * *

Regina looked up from where she was looking herself in the mirror. Tomorrow, she had been planning on going out into the town, and she wanted to do it in style. But she heard barking, and paused.

Going up to the window, she saw that basically the entire street was also looking as a dog ran down Mifflin. Regina recognized Princess, and with a pang, saw that she wasn't accompanied by Henry.

Her hear in her throat, she ran out of her room and downstairs, opening the door just in time for Princess to tumble through, barking like mad.

"Princess, what's wrong? Where's Henry?!"

But Princess could only bark nonstop, sounding a bit on the peculiar side. She huffed.

"Princess!" The dog stopped barking. "Let me try a locating spell."

She reached into the closet and pulled out one of his jackets, waving her hand over it. Nothing happened.

"Why isn't this working? Unless...Princess, did a magic user take him?" Regina asked, turning to the dog.

Emma barked. Jefferson used magical objects but had no magic of his own as far as she knew. She tried to once more change her appearance, and found herself shifting.

Regina watched in fascination as Princess began to change. Within seconds, where Princess had been, was a kneeling woman. Blonde and quite naked. "Emma?"

"We don't have time," Emma said, standing up. "Jefferson took Henry, I'm not sure why, but he did. He held him at gunpoint and forced Henry to go. I tried to stop him but I couldn't shift and he threatened to hurt Henry."

The brunette was having a hard time processing anything with Emma's state of undress. She felt so rattled. "You were Princess this entire time..."

"Regina, focus, Jefferson took Henry." Emma snapped her fingers to get Regina out of her trance. She suddenly felt a really big need to scratch her head, with her foot.

"Right, yes, we have to go, we- Emma, what are you doing?"

Emma had sat down in the foyer and contorted herself to try and scratch her head with her foot, and when that wasn't having the desired effect, she shifted herself back into a dog, and let out a happy murmur at finally being able to scratch that itch.

"Emma!" Emma snapped her head to Regina and cursed. How did her mind get so warped? It was clearly a side effect of the potion, and they were getting stronger. Her mind wanted to remain a dog, but she had to focus, Henry's life was in danger.

She let out a bark and Regina sighed. "After this is done, I will want a very detailed explanation. Now, let's go get our son back."

With yet another bark, Regina used her magic to transport them to Jefferson's house.

They landed in front of the driveway, and together, walked up the steps to the front door, where Regina knocked, and they waited.

Within seconds, Jefferson opened the door with a wide grin on his face. "Regina Mills! Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I heard you were being pardoned, congratulations. What can I do for you?"

Emma growled at him, and Regina narrowed her eyes. "I want my son back."

Jefferson looked puzzled. "I'm sorry, but this is not Storybrooke Elementary."

"Cut the crap Hatter, either you tell me where Henry is or-"

"Relax!" Jefferson let out a hearty laugh, hands up placatingly. He turned to Emma and said, "You've got quite a stingy owner. All threats and demands."

Without another word, he swivelled around and went inside the house, a clear limp from Emma's earlier bite, clearly wordlessly inviting him to follow him.

When Regina walked inside, she felt a weird sensation go through her body, it was familiar, but she couldn't quite place what that feeling was. With Emma in tow, they went after Jefferson, ending up in a living room. For Emma, this brought on a sense of deja-vu to when she had been kept prisoner while the curse had been active.

Henry was sitting in a wooden chair, tied to the back of the chair. "Mom!" Henry exclaimed, a smile on his face.

Regina gave him a reassuring smile before turning to Jefferson. "Let him go or-"

"Or else you'll do something horrible to me, yes yes I know the schtick." Jefferson let out a hollow laugh. "But I think you'll find that your methods are highly limited."

Eyes widening, Regina realized what that feeling was. Her magic was gone. She tried to test out her magic, and nothing. Emma let out a whimper, and Regina glanced at her momentarily, and then she looked at Henry.

"Well, now that the threats are all out of the way, let's have a sit, shall we?" Jefferson said, taking a seat on the sofa, and gesturing for Regina to take the armchair.

With a mistrusting look towards the armchair, she went to sit beside Jefferson on the other side of the sofa. They were facing each other, and with Regina's placement, Jefferson wasn't looking at Henry. Emma got an idea and moved to sit beside Henry.

"What do you want?" Regina snapped.

Jefferson reached for the copy of the Daily Mirror, showing the big news of Regina's pardon. "This."

Regina frowned. "I don't understand."

"Don't you!?" Jefferson demanded, voice louder. Then he took a deep breath and smile at Regina. "As a parent, I'm sure you can understand the importance of a child's safety, yes? Of having them with you. Well guess what, I don't have any rights to my child, because of your curse."

Regina was impassive as she looked at him. "Yes I was well-aware of that. And the curse is broken, why won't you go and contest it?"

"Do you honestly think me that stupid to think I haven't tried that already?" he growled. "I have tried, and I was turned away because Paige's adopted parents deemed me unstable. I have even tried to settle for visitation rights, but nothing! And yet the great and Evil Queen gets to have her whelp with her despite all her crimes. And now you're pardoned on top of all of that! So, a child for a child, Regina."

He withdrew his pistol from his jacket, and pointed it to where he knew Henry was sitting. "You find a way to get my child back, or your child gets it."

Regina tilted her head. "What child?"

Jefferson spluttered. " _What child_?! This one!"

However, when Jefferson turned, the chair was empty. "What in the world?!"

Regina stood up and made a show of straightening her skirt. "If there's nothing else..."

"Yes there is!" he screamed, now pointing the gun at her. "Henry! If you don't return right now, your mother dies!"

Nothing happened, but then he saw Regina nod. Before he could process anything, something was biting his other calf, hard. "AH!"

Regina rushed forward to grab the gun from his hand, and was successful, his grip much looser because of the pain. Once he was disarmed, Regina yelled, "Run!"

Henry, who had been hidden behind the couch, got up and rushed towards the door, with Regina following him, and Emma trailing behind them.

They bounded out of the door, and the minute they were outside of his property, Regina tried to see if her magic had returned.

It had, but it wasn't enough to get them away. They heard Jefferson chase after them, so Regina just yelled out to Henry, "Head to the Sheriff's station!"

They made it there soon enough, yelling and calling for David, and he scrambled out of his desk when he heard the commotion. He frowned when he saw that Henry, Regina, and Emma the dog were out of breath and panting by the door. "What in the world happened to you guys?"

"Jefferson kidnapped Henry and we managed to escape. He was chasing us, but I think he managed to figure out where we were going," Regina explained, with a surprisingly incredible air of calm for someone who just ran all the way there on heels.

"Okay, stay put, I'll catch him." He pointed to the bullpen where they could wait.

"You should get backup, he has a gun," Regina added, an arm around Henry's shoulder, instinctively protecting him.

He nodded, and when he got out, he called Mary Margaret. She in turn brought Ruby, and the three of them went hunting for Jefferson.

Meanwhile, in the station, Henry was sitting in an empty desk chair, Emma's head resting on his knees.

"So, who wants to explain to me what's going on here?" Regina asked, sitting on the desk.

Henry looked confused at the question. "What do you mean?"

Regina gestured to the dog he was petting. "I know that's Emma."

Emma didn't react for her part, it was like she wasn't even listening.

"Ma?" Henry asked, looking at her as well.

Nothing.

"Princess?" Regina tried, and Emma shot up excitedly, tongue wagging, looking at her expectantly. "Okay, very funny Emma, you don't think you're actually going to fool me into forgetting, are you?"

But where Emma previously would have responded with a bark, she merely tilted her head curiously.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Henry asked.

Regina would wager yes, but she disn't have the full context of why Emma was a dog in the first place. A lot of things did make more sense now, like Princess' insistence on playing with her and getting her out of that house, but there were plenty of new questions too.

Just then, David came in with Jefferson in tow, flanked by Mary Margaret and Ruby.

"I will have my revenge!" Jefferson yelled.

"Yeah yeah," David murmured, locking him up in a cell. They walked out of the bullpen and spilled out into the hallway so they could talk without Jefferson's presence.

Regina was the first to speak. "Wonderful, now that the crisis is averted, can someone explain what is going on with Emma?"

Mary Margaret innocently responded, "What's wrong with her?"

"I know she's the dog, but why the hell is she a dog in the first place?" Regina responded tersely, gesturing to the dog in their midst, who seemed more interested in sniffing everyone's shoes than the conversation.

Ruby frowned, having been looking at Emma in confusion. "She didn't tell you?"

Henry piped up, "I don't think she can. Watch."

He walked to down the hallway a few feet away, Emma following after him. "Ma, stop." Nothing. "Princess, stay."

The dog paused her movements and sat on her haunches, looking at him expectantly.

Ruby cursed, getting all three adults to give her disapproving looks. Then she clarified, "The side effects have gotten worse; we have to go to Belle. I'll have her meet us in the Inn, where the book is."

Regina huffed. "Great, and while we wait for her, you can fill me in on this madness."

* * *

And so when they were all sitting in the Inn's lobby, Ruby and the Charmings explained, with some input from Henry. They told Regina of how Emma had been worried about her, and how she tried to innocently send the flowers as a peace offering so they could resume their friendship, but Ruby's machinations with Belle's help sent that plan up in smoke.

"Well, that explains the flowers" Regina said, though she felt a small pang at the thought that maybe Emma didn't like her that way after all. But she couldn't focus on that right now. "And how does turning into a dog become the logical next step?"

Mary Margaret fielded that one, citing Emma's insecurities. "She felt that that was her only other solution, and a way to be useful. She cares a lot about you, Regina."

"But this is a random potion she found in a book, and clearly the effects were getting worse the more time she spends as a dog. And this was the final step. It's quite possible that she has forgotten she was a human in the first place," Ruby added.

Belle then arrived, and from the room, they took out the book in question. Regina asked to see it and she hummed as she pored over the text.

Henry meanwhile turned to Ruby. "Can't you talk to her as a wolf?"

Ruby shook her head. "Even though we're both sorta from the canine family, if Emma is in full dog-mode, then a wolf will freak her out. She won't remember who I am and instinct will kick in. She'll run for the hills and the last thing we want is to go chasing after her."

Regina scoffed. "This is highly unstable magic, no wonder it went so wrong. Where did you make the potion? I'll correct this."

And so Regina got to work, and no one commented on how Emma naturally veered to be at her side or the way that Regina smiled when she felt Emma beside her.

A few hours later, and the potion was ready. "Alright Princess, open up."

Ruby had enough sense to throw a comforter over the dog's shoulders and rush everyone out, leaving Regina alone with Emma.

The former tilted the vial into Emma's mouth and waited.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, Emma began to shift, and then, she was back to her human self, wrapping the comforter closer against herself. "What...what happened?"

Regina sat down on a chair and smiled. "You tell me. What's the last thing you remember?"

Emma bit her lip as she focused. "We were in Jefferson's house. He had Henry and you were talking to him and I chewed the rope to free Henry and got him to hide. Then Jefferson was threatening you and I bit him hard. Then we ran and that's the last thing I remember. How long ago was that?"

"Just a few hours ago. Your father caught Jefferson and I prepared an antidote, as you went full dog on us."

Emma cringed and sheepishly said, "My bad."

Regina dismissed it. "Not a problem. It was quite easy. It was a cheap magic book, it wasn't supposed to have worked out as well as it did, and in fact, I'm surprised it did."

"I knew that eyeball was fishy," Emma quipped, and grinned when Regina chuckled a bit at that.

Then she grew serious. "We should probably talk."

Emma nodded. "Can I change first? I don't fancy doing this naked with only a comforter on."

Regina agreed. "I will go tell everyone the potion worked, and when you're done, just leave the door open."

Ten minutes later, they were back, Regina once more sitting on the chair, and Emma had taken a seat on the edge of the bed.

"So..." Emma said, smiling tersely.

"Relax, I won't yell," Regina said with an easy smile. "I do want to know about this plan of yours. Everyone did a good job of explaining the flowers and you feeling out of place, even about me looking sad, but I know there's something more."

Emma took a deep breath. "Henry gave me reports on you and it made me feel so helpless that I couldn't do anything for you. You deserve a second chance Regina, no matter how many of those second chances you've already have."

"You petitioned for my pardon," Regina realized.

Emma nodded. "I just wanted to be your friend, like we had started to become before...well, before everything went to hell. So I settled for the next best thing, a dog is a man's best friend, so I figure that it could be yours too."

Regina smiled, and then looked away as she said. "So just friends then? The flowers were a mistake?"

Making a face, Emma shook her head. "No, the message was genuine, I just hadn't planned on making it that way. I wanted to be your friend first before delving into the romance department. In fact, I was going to call you today when Jefferson showed up."

"But we spoke yesterday."

Emma flinched and began to wring her hands. "And it ended disastrously, as I know you felt. But seeing you last night gave me the courage to try and ask you out. To at least try to show you I was interested, but I understand if you were just looking for friends."

Regina shook her head and reached out to take Emma's hands in her own. "I think you and I both know we want something more. So how about we see where this goes?"

"Sounds like a plan," Emma grinned.

* * *

 **One Year Later**

Emma parked her car in the driveway and gathered her stuff before getting out of the car and going up the walkway to what was now her home. Regina had been insistent that she move in not even a month after they started dating, claiming she had already been living there for a week while she was Princess, so there was no use in waiting.

Ruby had called it u-hailing and even today she wouldn't let up with it.

She walked inside and hung up her jacket, calling out for her girlfriend. "Regina? You home?"

"Yes dear, in the kitchen." It was their one year anniversary, and Regina was making a special meal. Emma meanwhile, hid her present behind her, hoping it would cooperate.

"Happy one year anniversary Regina," Emma said, going to greet her with a kiss.

 _"Yelp!"_

"Emma? What was that?" Regina asked, trying to look behind her girlfriend.

Emma shrugged evasively. "No idea. What was what?"

Unfortunately, her gift was squirming in her hold, and Emma had no choice but to hold it out in front of her. It was a golden retriever puppy, with a red bow around its neck.

"So apparently, Mr Peterson's retriever had kids, and David got me a discount. We still have to finish the paperwork tomorrow, since I figured we could get her a fitting name together."

Regina looked enchanted with the new puppy, taking her into her arms. "If you think I am naming her Princess, you are sorely mistaken. You are the princess here, and I am in no way taking that mantle from you."

Emma beamed as Regina studied the new puppy carefully. After her incident, she had nearly gone back to normal. There was one side effect that she had never been able to shake off, and that was belly rubs, but Regina never said no to a belly rub, and happily obliged.

"So, anything happen while I was away?" Emma asked.

"Your parents called to say that they want to invite us to dinner on Friday, and wouldn't take no for an answer," Regina grinned, and Emma affectionately rolled her eyes. They never did take no for an answer.

Thankfully, her parents had eased up on the parenting overload, and David demoted himself to a part-time Deputy. Emma had insisted it wasn't necessary, but he knew that this town didn't have nearly enough crime to warrant two deputies, and when they did have some sort of chaos, it was all hands on deck so his position could very well be a part-time one, and he had been missing the animal shelter.

Henry was excited for his moms to be dating, though he jokingly made both women promise to not break the other's hearts, or else. It was in those moments he channeled Regina quite perfectly.

"I'm sure Henry will be able to think up of a name," Emma said.

"Indeed, we can ask him when he comes back from school," Regina agreed, letting the puppy down so she could explore the house.

"Yep, and I think we have time before he comes back, right?" Emma asked, smirking.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Subtlety was never your strong suit, dear."

Emma groaned. "Oh come on, I've gotten better!"

"Says the woman who wanted to train doves to deliver a message for me on Valentine's Day," Regina countered.

"It was supposed to be romantic," Emma pouted.

"And it was, plus you know I'm an expert at doing things over the top," she added. "It's a quality I quite admire about you, because you manage to always make it adorable."

"Just that?" Emma asked, wrapping her arms around Regina's waist.

Feigning as if she was thinking, Regina linked her arms around Emma's neck. "Well I can think of some others."

Rather than answer, their lips met in a sweet kiss that quickly deepened and promised something more to come quite soon.

* * *

 **And that was that!**

 **A nice and fluffy story with hijinks. I hope it had a satisfactory ending for everyone! I didn't spend much time on the drama because I figured that this story was meant to be on the lighter side and not focus so much on the doom and gloom.**

 **Now, I have to finish my other Big Bang story, as well as getting back to my regular stories, which have been seriously neglected.**

 **I'd love to know your thoughts about this!**


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